Koko eyes talks with Hontiveros regarding Senate minority leader post

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Wednesday said he will discuss the Senate minority leader post with opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros prior to the opening of the 19th Congress.

Pimentel, who earlier stated that he is inclined to join the minority bloc, said he will wait for the senators who will join the majority bloc to organize themselves first before the minority bloc discusses their set-up.

“Pabayaan namin ang majority, magbuo muna kayo. Kasi ang hindi sasali sa kanila will be the minority then we organize ourselves. Tingnan namin,” Pimentel said at the virtual Kapihan sa Manila Bay.

(We will let the majority organize themselves first because those who will not join them will be the minority. Then we organize ourselves.)

“Ewan ko kay Risa pero mag-uusap kami ni Risa. Alam naman din ni Risa na una sa lahat abogado ako. Number two, siyempre Senate rules are involved. Naging Senate president din naman ako, I dealt with the Senate rules, and then number three, mas matanda ako sa kanya. So, dagdag mo na yon,” he added when asked if he is vying for the minority leadership.

(I don't know with Risa but we will talk. Risa knows that I am a lawyer. Number two, the Senate rules are involved and I was once a Senate president and I dealt with Senate rules. Number three, I am older than her. So, we will also put that into consideration.)

For the 19th Congress, Pimentel said the public could expect that he would ensure checks and balances in the Senate.

“I want to be sure that structurally, there will be a segment of the Senate which will check the greater majority. ‘Pag sinabi kong [when I say] checks, it doesn’t mean that we will always be on the opposite side,” he said.

He vowed to monitor if the Senate rules are being followed by the majority, if the proposals are in line with the 1987 Constitution, and if the Senate’s time is being spent on urgent matters and measures.

Meanwhile, Senator Sonny Angara disclosed that Senator Pia Cayetano and presumptive Senator Alan Peter Cayetano are inclined to join the Senate minority bloc in the 19th Congress.

"The two Cayetanos, I think I'm also expressed the possibility, ayoko nga pangunahan sila, but I think they are also open to being in the minority bloc,” Angara mentioned when asked how checks and balances will play out in the Senate.

With Pimentel in the minority bloc, Angara said he expects discussions on very important issues, specifically on matters that involve civil and political rights, local government, electoral reform, among others.

“So, he will definitely not rubber stamp everything that comes out of the LEDAC or the executive branch's legislative agenda,” Angara said.

On the speculation that the majority bloc of the 19th Congress is grooming Alan Cayetano as the next Senate minority leader, Angara said he believes that the incoming senator would not be dictated by anyone.

“Well, we always have to look at Senator Alan Peter, he’s been speaker of the House, he’s been a majority leader. So, I don’t think he will be dictated upon by anyone. He’s clearly one of the most independent senators I know,” Angara said.

Cayetano, who ran as an independent candidate in the Eleksyon 2022 senatorial race, is a member of the Nacionalista Party, which is being led by former Senate President Manny Villar.

Villar is the husband of incumbent Senator Cynthia Villar, one of the members of the upper chamber who is reportedly vying for the Senate presidency in the 19th Congress.

The Nationalist Party had endorsed the bid of presumptive President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in the 2022 national and local elections. —KBK, GMA News